Diet Delivery: Rating the Plans

The idea might be good, but by the end of the day, there will be nobody who will be watching you when you open the fridge to get that extra food. Dieting is in your brain.

I agree with TheMorbidMe's post. I can see where this would be very convenient, but it really doesn't address a lot of the behavior issues that cause us to be overweight, it doesn't educate, nor does it address exercise. I believe that until those things are addressed, chances are good that any weight lost will be temporary.

Brian

Brian hit the nail on the head. Losing weight is a lifestyle change, and people need to learn about foods, what's in them, what to prepare and how to prepare it in a healthy way. Besides that, I think they're all waaay to pricey.

I'm on ZoneChefs and have lost 29 lbs since starting on 1/21 (I also exercise daily). As I live alone, I took care of the open refrigerator by getting rid of all perishables and all open or "bad" perishables. The first month I didn't cheat at all and ZC enabled me to get used to the portion sizes, made me try foods I wouldn't have, etc. Since then, I've had a few dips into the jasmine rice I couldn't bring myself to toss, but MUCH MUCH smaller portions than pre-diet that still felt like huge cheats. I also do a bit of substituting meal bars when I really hate a meal. The fact that the whole rating thing seems to be ignored by ZC makes me think EDiets might be worth a try as I wean myself from ZC over the next couple of months (recently dropped weekends).

But, I don't cook. It is expensive, but it has taught me lessons about food and eating that I don't think I could/would have done on my own. It's also a lot healthier than other pre-packaged meals (whether part of a service or in the grocer's freezer).

I think that if you can afford it and need to learn portion size, it can be a great choice, if only for a month to get used to smaller portions.

Just because prepared diets don't address all sides of the "weight issue" doesn't mean that they have no value. One of the largest problems those that wish to lose weight face when embarking on a diet is appropriate portion sizes, and prepared foods can really help a person "retrain" their mind in this area.

Weight loss can be a very daunting task--especially if one has tried and failed in the past. Pre-prepared foods can help simplify things and make the goal seem more reachable in the beginning.

Does anyone know the difference or have an opinion on the different zone delivery options? In the Zone versus Zone Chefs?

I am a young, active, medical student. Ironically, late-nights at the hospital and always eating "on the go" are my biggest downfalls. I think the pre-proportioned and nutritionally balanced meals are a wonderful idea for anyone who has a crazy schedule and finds themselves going through the drive-through (or vending machine!) instead of having a "real" meal. My husband and I are going to start Nutrisystem soon. We each have about 15lbs to lose; its more about having healthier meals available and getting "good" calories instead of the "empty" ones. And as far as the price goes - at about $25 a day for two people, that's MUCH less than we spend on eating out every night, junk food, food "to-go," etc.

Does anyone have any thoughts about the TASTE of the food in any of the pre-packed meals?

Do your own pre-packaged food plan: Cook a bunch of food on a Sunday (or whenever you have time), put it into storage containers and re-heat it throughout the week. Ideas: a whole chicken, pot roast, skillet filled with burgers or steaks, steamer filled with asparagus, brocolli, carrots, etc. Just make a bunch of food and partition it into storage containers. Take those with you throughout the week. It should only take about 3 hours or so to do this, and will save a lot of time during the week. And you'll always have a healthy meal on hand.

There's a place--at least in the commercial market--for packaged foods. Still, my bottom line is how real (vs. processed-manufactured), fresh, and nutrient-filled the food is. Is it actual food or simulated food? I've only looked at Nutrisystem, and it's processed junk food in my view.

I've been looking into one of the delivered plans because while I can cook and actually do it well I really hate doing it. I find most of the time I'm too lazy in the kitchen to cook a healthy meal and I would rather just heat up a frozen pizza because its less work for me. I work odd hours and by the time I get home I just want to throw something in the microwave/oven and then eat it when the timer goes off. I try to keep a stack of frozen dinners such as south beach or healthy choice in the freezer for those times when I just can't get the motivation to cook. Does anyone have any suggestions as to one of these "convience diets" might be a better one? I'm on a limited budget too.

I would NOT reccomened Zone Chefs now called Chefs Diet. Delivery is not at all reliable, customer service is impossilbe to reach and their sales dept is VERY agressive. When I (again) did not receive an entire weekends worth of meals (of course did not discover until Sat AM) I couldn't get a hold of anyone in their office. I DID however get multiple sales calls on my cell phone all weekend asking me to renew. They started calling at 8am both Saturday and Sunday hounding me to renew on the very weekend they "forgot" to deliver the much counted on meals. The food may be tasty, but everything else about this company is awful. STAY AWAY!

I have been on chefs diet for a week and they are horrible. The food is very bland and often the fruits are old and their lettuce wilted. they have horrible customer services. Stay far away!!!!

I AGREE Chefs Diet is Horrible. and buyer beware. when you cancel they claim to need nearly a week notice and also if you cancel your daily rate goes up. The food is bland and freezer burnt. customer service is non existent. when you contact them they have you call another line and then that person asks if someone else can call you! bottom line....don't make the same mistake we did!

I have been on (about 3 years ago) NutriSystem and while a very few meals were tolerable I couldn't handle that shelf-stable bland food. I'm on the Chef's Diet Solutions frozen lunch and dinners ($10.99 per day) and I have not had one single meal that I didn't like. In fact they are ALL delicious! I just had the Zesty Tortilla-Crusted Tilapia Fillet with Fiesta Corn, Black Bean & Red Bell Pepper Toss for lunch and it was SUPERB! These are super gourmet meals and I'd never go back to NutriSystem. I could live on these meals for the rest of my life and that's no exaggeration!

Oh by the way, I've lost 8 lbs in a week and a half. I love it because I don't even have to worry about what I'm going to eat.

Mari said:
Oh by the way, I've lost 8 lbs in a week and a half. I love it because I don't even have to worry about what I'm going to eat.[...]

That's great, Mari! Just know that most people fail to maintain their weight loss because eventually they go off the plan and have to do it on their own The secret to success is to learn how to manage your own diet. Try to use this time to learn that skill and you will continue to be in love :-)

NEVER go on Chef's diet.
They have the worst customer service. I'm horrified how bad it was for me that I cannot even get into the details. It was when I cancelled the service that they started the one month nightmare to close my service. DO NOT EVER go on their diet. Email me if you want the details. I would never want to be put through the hell that I went through ever again.
I thought that they were nice all up until the DAY YOU CANCEL. Be very careful consumer. We all have rights. I do not anyone to experience what I went through.

I am totally shocked by the negative reports re Chef's Diet. After my friend raved about her experience with the program, I apprehensively joined in April 2007 and my experience was outstanding. I did 4 months straight when they were called Zone Chefs. I lost 30 pounds very easily and happily. I just started again this week and my experience from day one to now has been excellent. I have only been on the daily delivery service and delivery has been ENTIRELY consistent and I have found customer service to be excellent and exceptionally responsive when I have had an issue or two (i.e., nuts coming in my food when I asked for my food to be nuts free). To be honest, I am so sincerely grateful to Chef's Diet and all the wonderful, hard-working people who work there. The food has been EXCELLENT. At times I can believe that I am dieting. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND (without any reservation) their daily delivery service in the NY-Tri State area. I plan to do about another 4 months on it and live the life of my dreams.

Why would I have to "do it on my own"? I was on NutriSystem for 11 months and lost 70 lbs, I feel great, better than ever, and have the energy to exercise and keep up with my life.

I changed to Chef's Diet and LOVE it! It's like comparing Lutece to Denny's.

Why drive to a store, push a cart, stand in line, lug bags to my car, load and unload, when I can click a few keys and have it delivered to my home, prepared healthy, and delicious?

When I think of what I am saving in gas mileage, wear on my car, my time, heating my oven, dishes I'm not washing, food that's not rotting in my fridge (hard to get quantities for one) etc., not to mention fast food I no longer buy, what's not to love?

It's not like food from a store is free. I have to buy food, why not have taste and convenience? I don't think the price is at all unreasonable. Why would I ever change back? Brick and mortar stores are old-school :)

My problem has very little to do with not knowing what and/or how much to eat. But I have health and depression issues, and often simply cannot cope with appropriate food prep. If I had daily "insta-food", I think I might lose some of this dangerous weight, which would help with the health issues and the depression, etc. and so on. I see one strong "against" for NutriSystem, and one positive 70 lb. weight loss (thanks, Elyce). Anybody have strong opinions about the less expensive systems?

I have been on both Zone Chefs (Frozen, when I lived in Boston) and daily Chefs Diet in NYC. First was HORRIBLE, second FANTASTIC. The weekly frozen delivery was terrible: food was watery and bland, too expensive for what you get and presented terribly. Zone Chefs - completely the opposite. Apart from the lunches (usually a lame salad of some description), the food is super tasty, well presented and you get used to the portion sizes. My friend lost 9 lbs in 3 weeks and although I cheated on the first week, I hope to do the same. I highly recommend the fresh daily delivery service, if it is available to you.

When I had my first child i went on the Nutrisystem diet and lost 20 lbbs in two months. I actually liked most of the meals. I didn't like the eggs and muffins, but I did like most of the dinners and lunches. I'm not a very picky eater, as I love veggies, nuts, most meats, pretty much everything. I found it was easy to stick to for two months, but after that it was tough. I've kept most of the weight off for the last 5 years, but never actually stuck with it enough to get down those last 12 pounds. I'm toying getting back into it, since it's reasonable and worked before.